More for less

More for less.  That’s what many councils are demanding of their care worker staff.  But what is the more and what is the less?

Unfortunately, it seems to be more people being cared for, by less people for less money.  And that can only result in one thing – poorer standards of care.

The UK Homecare Association, which represents the firms providing carers to help the elderly with basic tasks such as washing, eating and dressing, recently conducted research which revealed some shocking facts.

Fact:  Councils have been putting pressure on them to reduce the length of visits.

Fact: Three quarters of visits are now less than 30 minutes in duration, including 10% which are less than 15 minutes.

If you thought that unreasonable, then so does the Equality and Human Rights Commission which some 12 months or so ago stated that some services were, in their view, breaching human rights.  Now that is appalling.

If you want to know the reason, it’s not difficult to understand.  Councils are being hit by central government cuts in funding.  This year’s figure of £14bn sounds huge, but it has to cover a huge range of needs and in real terms represents a cut of £1bn.

So services have to be rationed.  Only the MOST needy receive care, what they get is being pared back, less time spent, no time for chit chat, little time for personal contact.  As the standards of services fall, so does the quality of life for the eldery concerned.

Now there HAS to be a better way, and we know what that is.  Regrettably it is not, we admit, available to everyone, but the point is, you don’t know until you investigate.

The option we are talking about is staying in your own home with the services of a full time carer.  And that is where we come in, with decades of experience of putting the right people together, to ensure that elderly parents and relatives spend either all their days, or as long as possible, within the comfort of their own home, with reassurance and confidence in a carer who is dedicated to their needs.